At A Glance

16 March 1980 at a glance

Day of the week
16 March 1980 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Going Underground / Dreams of Children” by The Jam.
Top Film of 1980
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1980 was The Empire Strikes Back.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 March is Pisces.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 March 1980 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for March is Aquamarine.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 March 1980 was New Moon.

On this day: 16 March

  • 1966 Launch of Gemini 8 with astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott. It would perform the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit.
  • 1978 Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time.
  • 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War: The People's Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ending the war.
  • 1988 Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
  • 1995 Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.

Famous people born on 16 March

  • Mark Carney, Canadian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Canada (born 1965)
  • Alexandra Daddario, American actress (born 1986)
  • Lauren Graham, American actress and producer (born 1967)
  • Alan Tudyk, American actor (born 1971)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1980 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1980 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 2 January – Workers at British Steel Corporation go on a nationwide strike over pay called by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, which has some 90,000 members among British Steel's 150,000 workforce, in a bid to get a 20% rise.
  • 25 February – The first episode of the popular political sitcom Yes Minister is broadcast on BBC2 television.
  • 31 March – National Heritage Act sets up the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
More events of 1980 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1980

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

45p

Loaf of Bread

33p

Average House

£23,596

Weekly Wage

£120.00

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Theo James16 December 1984Actor & musicianView their day →Pac22 August 1986WrestlerView their day →Robert Pattinson13 May 1986Actor & film producerView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Charlie Hunnam10 April 1980ActorView their day →Juno Temple21 July 1989ActressView their day →Rebecca Hall3 May 1982Actress & filmmakerView their day →Lewis Hamilton7 January 1985Racing driverView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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